Was the Baltimore Bridge Collapse caused by Cyber Terrorism?
Why did Biden discount terrorism just hours after the bridge collapse
Was the Baltimore Bridge Collapse caused by Cyber Terrorism? Why did Biden discount terrorism just hours after the bridge collapse? Why is Biden insisting American Taxpayers foot the bill and not the shipping company?
At about 1:30 AM, on March 26th the cargo ship Dali slammed into the Baltimore Bridge causing the entire bridge to collapse. By the end of the day President Biden discounted any possibility of terrorism and then said US taxpayers would fully fund the rebuilding of the bridge which could well cost billions of dollars and take years to rebuild. It all seemed surrealistic to me.
How could terrorism be discounted days before the black box was retrieved?
Why isn't the shipping company not paying for the rebuilding?
Why isn't the Globalist Corporate Media (MSNBC, CNN, FOX) investigating the possibility of cyber terrorism?
Then, less than two weeks later, another massive container ship lost power and almost crashed into the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. What are the odds that two massive container ships would lose power just before passing under a major bridge within two weeks?
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A massive container ship reportedly lost power on the Upper New York Bay - just before the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. According to Captain John Konrad, CEO of gCaptain, a New York City tugboat captain informed him that the 354-meter container ship APL QINGDAO "lost power while transiting New York harbor." "They had 3 escort tugs but 3 more were needed to bring her under control. They regained power & were brought to anchor near the verrazano bridge," the tugboat captain told Konrad.
Container Ship Reportedly "Lost Power" In NYC Harbor, Right Before Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (04/07/2024)
https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/container-ship-reportedly-lost-power-nyc-harbor-right-verrazzano-narrows-bridge
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I highly encourage you to read "By the Dawn’s Early Light: On the Fall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge" posted on April 7, 2024 by Ellen Brown. It provides a detailed analysis of the circumstances leading up to the collapse of the Baltimore bridge and the very real possibility that this was a terrorist event.
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The Baltimore bridge that collapsed on March 26th was named for Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to the American national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814. His inspiration was the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in the critical port of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The British had just burned the U.S. Capitol and the White House and had set their sights on the Baltimore port, with the guns from hundreds of British ships trained on shelling the American flag. If the flag were taken down, they would know the Americans had surrendered, and the British agreed the shelling would stop. But in the dawn’s early light, the flag still waved, held up by patriots who replaced soldiers who had fallen before them. Francis Scott Key observed all this from a British ship on which he had been allowed on board to negotiate a prisoner release. It is a quite moving story, dramatized here.
What the dawn’s early light brought on March 26, 2024, by contrast, were shocking news videos of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing when the Singapore-owned cargo ship Dali slammed into it. It was “like something out of an action movie,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott. Several commentators are calling it a “black swan” event that will have catastrophic effects on global supply chains. Interestingly, the War of 1812 was also about disruptions to U.S. trade with foreign nations, in that case by blockade by the British navy. But more on that, and on how our forebears turned dependence on foreign manufacturers into economic independence, after a look at what went amiss with the Dali and the bridge.
An Unusual Stroke of Bad Luck
Before it fell, the Key Bridge was a pivotal artery for traffic, cargo and supplies across the country. The Interstate 695 running across the bridge connects to I-95, one of the country’s busiest and most important supply chain highways, running from the northern to the southern end of the Eastern seaboard. Shipping is expected to resume to full capacity by the end of May, but rebuilding the bridge to appropriate standards could take five to seven years. That means this strategic artery will no longer be accessible for transporting hazardous materials, which Maryland law forbids to be transported by tunnel (including unleaded fuel, diesel, propane gas, and nitrogen chemicals for fertilizer), along with oversized cargo that cannot fit through roadway tunnels in the area (including tractors and military vehicles).
Observers contend there is still no plausible explanation for the direct hit to the bridge’s most critical support. The power went out on the ship about three minutes before the strike, yet multiple layers of security for maintaining steering control are mandated by U.S. and international regulation. Even without power, the Dali should have continued in the direction it was headed; but instead it veered to the right, for a direct hit into the key pylon supporting the bridge.
Engineering Professor Emerita W. M. Kim Roddis, a registered professional engineer with experience in bridge design, acknowledged in an interview in a March 28 article on GW Today that it was a “one in a million” occurrence. As reported in the George Washington University publication, she was asked how a 1.6-mile-long bridge that carried 31,000 cars per day could suffer such a complete collapse. She responded:
The container ship Dali lost power multiple times on its way out of Baltimore Harbor. The ship’s inability to steer resulted in it heading at an angle towards the southwestern major bridge pier—the pylon.
The navigation chart for Baltimore Harbor shows four protective devices called dolphins, one in front of each pier for outgoing and incoming ships. … They essentially serve as bumpers to deflect or slow boats and ships that are headed toward the pylon.
The [Dali’s] angled course allowed the ship to miss the dolphin and strike the pylon. When the ship collided with the pylon it exerted a huge crushing force on the pier, bursting the pylon apart. This pylon was the only support for the bridge on that side. … The continuity of the structure meant that all three spans came down when the southwestern pylon was lost. …
The angle the ship came in at was unusual. So, yes, this was an unlikely accident. … [O]ne-in-a-million is in the right ballpark.
What About a Cyberattack?
The FBI issued a statement the morning of the Dali crash saying there was no evidence of a terrorist attack, but insurers and reinsurers will no doubt be investigating, since insurance contracts now typically exclude damage from terrorist attacks. Insurance claims are expected to be high and to spill over into the global reinsurance market. (An interesting bit of trivia is that Dali’s insurer, a company named Britannia, is owned by a company called Wadia Group. Founded in 1726, it built the ship from which Francis Scott Key saw the flag waving over Fort McHenry in 1814.)
The cyberattack possibility is confirmed in an April 5 article in Security Magazine titled “Protecting Ships from Cyber Terrorism”. The author observes:
The investigation into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has only just begun, but we’ve already seen news reports containing an unclassified memo from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and comments from the Department of Homeland Security concerning the cause. … At this time, there is no evidence that the incident was anything more than a tragic accident, but the involvement of these U.S. government agencies indicates concerns of a cyberattack.
Those concerns are highly warranted. For some time, maritime cybersecurity has been top of mind for regional, national and global policymakers. …
There are plenty of onboard systems to attack. Hackers are known to intercept satellite communications used extensively by ships at sea. They can also spoof or jam GPS systems, manipulate the automatic ID system (AIS), steal vital data, or inject malware or ransomware into any number of onboard systems via infected devices files. Such attacks can throw a ship off course. When combined with a compromised propulsion system, the consequences can be horrific.
The cyberattack possibility is also confirmed in an article in The Security Ledger titled “Container Ships Easy to Hack, Track, Send Off Course and Even Sink, Security Experts Say”. In fact training is now offered at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology to prepare for cyberattacks. An article in Norwegian SciTech News titled “What Do You Do If a Hacker Takes Over Your Ship?” begins with this chilling scene involving the hijacking of a ship’s steering:
You’re on the bridge, with the ship’s course shown on the digital display. But why is the ship continuing to turn west?
Everything looks normal on the computer screens in the dark wheelhouse — but outside, the land is dangerously close. What’s going on?
Down in the engine room, workers report via radio that everything is normal, but they wonder why the bridge has changed course. The engines are revving and the ship is picking up speed. The engine room hasn’t done this. What now?
In July 2020, World Economic Forum head Klaus Schwab warned of “the frightening scenario of a comprehensive cyberattack which would bring a complete halt to the power supply,” such that Covid 19 “would be seen as a small disturbance in comparison ….” And at the WEF annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2023, WEF managing director Jeremy Jurgens said during a presentation highlighting the WEF Global Security Outlook Report that 93 percent of cyber leaders believed that the current geopolitical instability makes a catastrophic cyber event likely before 2025.
By the Dawn’s Early Light: On the Fall of the Francis Scott Key Bridge
Posted on April 7, 2024 by Ellen Brown
https://ellenbrown.com/2024/04/07/by-the-dawns-early-light-on-the-fall-of-the-francis-scott-key-bridge/
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The Baltimore Bridge collapse sure looks like cyber terrorism to me
As a journalist, myself, I think Lara Logan is one of the best. In her analysis she believes that the bridge collapse was most likely the result of a cyber terrorist tactic known as "spoofing." Essentially she believes that the GPS signal on the ship was overwhelmed by a terrorist GPS signal. And that signal directed the ship directly into one of the two supporting pylons holding up the bridge. By the time the ship's captain realized what was going on it was too late to correct the course of the ship. It is also worth noting that in the final minute the cargo ship did a hard right directly into one of the two main pylons supporting the bridge. You can obviously see the ship making a hard right in the beginning of the video.
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"The TRUTH is coming out in the Baltimore bridge cyber attack" Lara Logan [Redacted News (04/05/2024)]
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Logan’s most recent reports revolve around the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Maryland. On March 26, the day the bridge was struck, Logan took to X to expose what she says is clearly a “‘strategic attack’ on US critical infrastructure — most likely cyber.” “As soon as it came down, the authorities were claiming there was no evidence of any kind of wrongdoing,” says Pat. “Yes, which was odd because they hadn't had time to investigate, so for the authorities to make a definitive statement about anything was unusual, especially when you look at the nature of what happened,” says Logan.
After talking to many people, including some who “had worked in Baltimore for 30 years,” some who “worked in maritime attacks,” and others who “are still on active duty in the intelligence community,” Lara came away with a narrative about the bridge collapse that didn’t at all match the official statement given by authorities. “One person in particular knew instantly that from the very first moment that he saw that ship, it wasn't inside the channel, which is where it has to be when it's on course,” she explains. Further, “Multiple intelligence professionals” told Lara that they “knew the moment they saw it” that the collision “was a technique ... because [they] carry out this technique on foreign battlefields.”
“It's called 'spoofing,'” they told her, and “by the time [the ship crew] is throwing off the anchor or doing whatever [they] can to try and correct [the GPS attack], it's simply too late.” To learn about how “spoofing” works and the likely reasons behind this alleged orchestrated attack, watch the clip below.
Famous investigative journalist reveals what multiple intel sources told her about the Baltimore bridge collapse: 'A brilliant strategic attack' (04/03/2024)
https://www.theblaze.com/shows/pat-gray-unleashed/lara-logan-2667682225?
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Is America being attacked? Investigative journalist Lara Logan joins the podcast to discuss the latest on the collapse of the Baltimore Key Bridge and what she’s hearing from her intelligence sources. After the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, Lara took to X and posted what the intel community is saying about the vulnerability of our infrastructure and how America is NOT ready if our infrastructure gets attacked. Why is our federal government ignoring our infrastructure?
The Silent Attack on America's Infrastructure (04/02/2024)
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And here is some further analysis that Lara Logan provided on Twitter (e.g., X).
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Multiple intel sources: Baltimore bridge collapse was an “absolutely brilliant strategic attack” on US critical infrastructure - most likely cyber - & our intel agencies know it. In information warfare terms, they just divided the US along the Mason Dixon line exactly like the Civil War. Second busiest strategic roadway in the nation for hazardous material now down for 4-5 years - which is how long they say it will take to recover. Bridge was built specifically to move hazardous material - fuel, diesel, propane gas, nitrogen, highly flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels - that supply chain now crippled. Make no mistake: this was an extraordinary attack in terms of planning, timing & execution. The two critical components on that bridge are the two load-bearing pylons on each end, closest to the shore. They are bigger, thicker and deeper than anything else. These are the anchor points and they knew that hitting either one one of them would be a fatal wound to the integrity of the bridge. Half a mile of bridge went in the river - likely you will have to build a new one. Also caused so much damage to the structural integrity of the bottom concrete part that you cannot see & won’t know until they take the wreckage apart. Structural destruction likely absolute.
Attack perfectly targeted. “They have figured out how to bring us down. As long as you stay away from the teeth of the US military, you can pick the US apart. We are arrogant and ignorant - lethal combination. Obama said they would fundamentally change America and they did. We are in a free-fall ride on a roller coaster right now - no brakes - just picking up speed.”
The footage shows the cargo ship never got in the approach lane in the channel. You have to be in the channel before you get into that turn. Location was precise/deliberate: chose a bend in the river where you have to slow down and commit yourself - once you are committed in that area there is not enough room to maneuver. Should have had a harbor pilot to pilot the boat. You are not supposed to traverse any obstacles without the harbor pilot. They chose a full moon so they would have maximum tidal shift - rise and fall. Brisk flow in that river on a normal day & have had a lot of rain recently so water was already moving along at a good pace. Hit it with enough kinetic energy to knock the load-bearing pylon out from under the highway - which fatally weakens the span and then 50 percent of the bridge fell into the water.
All these factors when you look at it - this is how you teach people how to do this type of attack and there are so few people left in the system who know this. We have a Junior varsity team on the field. Tremendous navigational obstruction. Huge logistical nightmare to clean this up. Number of dead is tragic but not the whole measure of the attack. That kind-of bridge constantly under repair - always at night because there is so much traffic and they cannot obstruct that during the day. So concern is for repair guys who were on foot (out of their vehicles) working who may now be in the water - 48 degrees at most at this time of year. When you choke off Baltimore you have cut the main north-south hazardous corridor (I95) in half. Now has to go around the city - or go somewhere else. To move some of that cargo through the tunnel you may be able to get a permit but those are slow to get and require an escort system that is expensive and has to be done at night. For every $100 dollars that goes into the city, $12 comes from shipping. Believe this will cripple the city of Baltimore at a time when they do not have the resources to recover.
Lara Logan on the Baltimore Bridge collapse on Twitter (03/26/2024)
https://twitter.com/laralogan/status/1772675651599770093
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Investigative journalist Lara Logan joins the podcast to discuss something no mainstream media is talking about. Back in 2020, the Baltimore City Council passed a budget that cut the budget for the police after the “defund the police” movement. The Baltimore police marine unit was one of those departments to be cut from the budget, which is why Baltimore has to rely on the U.S. Coast Guard. Yes, Baltimore police do not have a marine unit to monitor or patrol the Baltimore Harbor/Port. Does the Left now understand why we don’t defund the police?
Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Lara Logan REVEALS Troubling Details (04/04/2024)
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Here are some additional articles worth reading regarding the Baltimore Bridge Collapse
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Regardless of whether this disruptive, deadly crash was an unfortunate accident or the result of a repugnant cyber attack, it highlights the potential consequences of cyber terrorism on the maritime industry. Contacting just one column of the 1.6-mile-long bridge, the ship was able to bring large portions crashing into the water and tragically end the lives of six construction workers. The economic damage is extensive. The Port of Baltimore — one of the busiest car import/export points in the US and home to some of the largest retailer distribution centers like FedEx, Amazon, and Home Depot — is shut down until further notice. Many of the 15,000 employees who work directly for the Port and 140,000 other employees supported by the Port’s ecosystem are out of work. Meanwhile, the Key Bridge, a vital road transportation route, is shut down indefinitely, forcing 30,000 daily commuters to find alternate routes.
Protecting ships from cyber terrorism (04/05/2023)
https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/100574-protecting-ships-from-cyber-terrorism
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"The FBI's focus remains on the victims and all the families directly impacted by this tragedy. We grieve along with them, and along with all of Maryland," said William J. DelBagno, special agent in charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. "Our strength and resiliency are tested in times of crisis. But know the FBI is united with our partners and we will continue to provide any tool, resource or support necessary, every step of the way. There is no specific and credible information to suggest any ties to terrorism at this time. The investigation is ongoing. FBI Baltimore will continue to support our partners at the local, state, and federal levels."
FBI Baltimore Statement on Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse (03/26/2024)
https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/baltimore/news/fbi-baltimore-statement-on-francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse
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The world watched with shock as Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into the Patapsco River after the container ship Dali suffered a total power failure and struck a bridge pylon. As recovery efforts continued and federal and state authorities grappled with the impact of the disaster, the scale of the accident is still taking shape. Six people are presumed dead. The Port of Baltimore, an important shipping hub, has been shut down indefinitely. And rebuilding the bridge could cost, according to some estimates, more than $1 billion. Meanwhile, observers were left with questions about how a 1.6 mile bridge that carried 31,000 cars per day—11.3 million vehicles a year—could suffer such a complete collapse. The steel truss-style bridge opened in 1977 and was reportedly up to code with no known structural issues. And while the Dali was massive—measuring as long as three football fields and stacked high with containers—the extent of the wreckage was startling.
GW Today spoke with Engineering Professor Emerita W. M. Kim Roddis, a registered professional engineer with experience in bridge design, about the factors that contributed to the collapse.
Anatomy of a Fall: Inside the Baltimore Bridge Disaster (03/28/2024)
In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, GW engineering professor W. M. Kim Roddis explained what led to the accident—and whether it could have been prevented.
https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/anatomy-fall-inside-baltimore-bridge-disaster
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